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Now that NY trades for Mudiay, the Knicks are going to be looking for a true SF wing in this draft. Mudiay, Knits, Burke, Dotson and Timmy is a huge improvement over the guards this team has employed the last 2 decades...

Porter or Ducic or Bagley or bust!

NY has a golden opportunity now to sneak into top 5 worst records....

Adding a top 7 lottery pick is gonna be huge for this roster.

This way, NY can boast a solid young Corp to tre 2019 free agent class PLUS the Knicks will have a lottery pick next year which could be used in a trade next summer.

Say we have KP, Knits, Lottery pick this year, we sign Kanter, have Timmy and Mudiay/Burke... sign a free agent and either draft another lottery stud or trade that for a more established all-star caliber player.

Now the Knicks and their fans should be dreaming of another top-five pick who could turn out to be Arizona's Deandre Ayton, Duke's Marvin Bagley III, Oklahoma's Trae Young, Texas' Mohamed Bamba or maybe even European star Luka Dončić. This draft figures to be dominated by big men and scoring wings near the top, with Missouri's Michael Porter, Villanova's Mikal Bridges, Kentucky's Kevin Knox and Michigan State's Miles Bridges also likely to be lottery picks.

"Well, they should be [dreaming of a top-five pick] because this is a tragic injury for the Zinger; you hope he's going to recover 100 percent," ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said. "But right now the key way the Knicks can make any progress for the long term is to try to get as high a draft pick as possible in a year where there's potentially six or seven future All-Stars in this draft."

Now the Knicks and their fans should be dreaming of another top-five pick who could turn out to be Arizona's Deandre Ayton, Duke's Marvin Bagley III, Oklahoma's Trae Young, Texas' Mohamed Bamba or maybe even European star Luka Dončić. This draft figures to be dominated by big men and scoring wings near the top, with Missouri's Michael Porter, Villanova's Mikal Bridges, Kentucky's Kevin Knox and Michigan State's Miles Bridges also likely to be lottery picks.

"Well, they should be [dreaming of a top-five pick] because this is a tragic injury for the Zinger; you hope he's going to recover 100 percent," ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said. "But right now the key way the Knicks can make any progress for the long term is to try to get as high a draft pick as possible in a year where there's potentially six or seven future All-Stars in this draft."

Almost Verbatim

Originally Posted by Broadway

I don't think it's as clear cut anymore hence NBADraft.net has Ayton #1 and Trae #3(he wasn't in the top 30 to start the season I don't believe). I'm not saying Bagley isn't a deserved consensus #1 but the gap has closed immensely.

There are 6 prospects who IMO have stud status written all over them and we may not have a chance at none of them

“Some NBA executives have observed the Knicks have a well-stocked scouting department under the new regime, but not enough developmental coaches. One NBA assistant recently pointed to Ntilikina’s modest development this season as perhaps a cause.”

(Article in Post talking about bringing back Pablo to be a coach/mentor to our 3 young PGs).

“Some NBA executives have observed the Knicks have a well-stocked scouting department under the new regime, but not enough developmental coaches. One NBA assistant recently pointed to Ntilikina’s modest development this season as perhaps a cause.”

(Article in Post talking about bringing back Pablo to be a coach/mentor to our 3 young PGs).

Prigioni mentoring Ntilikina seems like a good fit. He’d convince Frank to always pass and never shoot again unless it is a wide open 3.

The Knicks’ final 23 games after the All-Star break are only a series of “Bridges’’ to their next date of import: the May 15 draft lottery.

Pun intended.

If the lottery were held now, the Knicks would hold the ninth-best odds with a 23-36 record and a league-high eight-game losing streak entering the break.

If they stay at No. 9 after the pingpong balls dance, that would put them in position to draft either of two small forwards – 6-7 junior Mikal Bridges of Villanova or 6-6 sophomore Miles Bridges of Michigan State.

The Knicks are focused most on that position, which was left thin following Carmelo Anthony’s departure.

They have a plethora of point guards, shooting guards and centers, and Kristaps Porzingis could man power forward for the next 10 years. Lance Thomas is the lone true “3’’ on the roster.

Seth Greenberg, former Virginia Tech coach and ESPN’s college-basketball guru the past six years, told The Post he’s a big fan of Mikal, 21, and prefers him over Miles, 19.

A gushing Greenberg places Mikal, who is averaging 16.5 points on 48 percent shooting, as a definite top-10 pick. The top small forward in the draft should be 6-foot-10 Michael Porter, who had what was expected to be season-ending back surgery, but there have been reports he could still try to play again late in the season for Missouri.

The Knicks would have to bust the odds to get into the top 3 (6.1 percent) and be in contention for Porter.

“He has a chance to be really special,’’ Greenberg said of Mikal. “He’s 6-8. He can defend anyone. He can shoot it. He’s fundamentally sound. He’s got a real high basketball IQ. He’s got a toughness about him — a redshirt freshman with the size, length, defensively skilled and maturity.

“Just a really good feel for the game and maturity and from a winning program. He’s so fundamentally sound it’s incredible.”

The Knicks will zoom into developmental mode after this weekend’s break. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek hinted it’s time to play the young players. One imminent change, the coach said, will be reducing minutes of veteran starter Jarrett Jack and rolling with the three young lottery-pick point guards in Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke, a DNP in the Washington choke Wednesday.

In the same vein, expect rookie second-rounder Damyean Dotson’s minutes to climb as Courtney Lee’s shrink.

That means the Knicks could sink in the standings and improve their lottery standing to better than No. 9. However, the teams in the Knicks’ neighborhood, too, are content to tank at this point — except the Nets, whose pick belongs to the Cavaliers.

Mikal and Miles Bridges, no relation, should be in the Knicks’ range as Greenberg sees a lot of strong power forwards and centers going ahead of them — Marvin Bagley, Jaren Jackson Jr., DeAndre Ayton and Mohamed Bamba – and point guards Trae Young and Collin Sexton.

NBAdraft.net has Mikal and Miles going 11-12 respectively.

Miles, who plays for Michigan State and averages 17.3 points on 48 percent from the field, also could be a good fit, especially with Knicks president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry emphasizing a need for athleticism.

Some have compared Miles to Draymond Green, but that’s mostly because Green played at Michigan State, too. Bridges is considered more of an athlete, similar to the Suns’ Josh Jackson.

“Not only can he really shoot the ball, but he’s a freakish athlete who can run the floor,’’ said Greenberg, a Long Island native. “He could be a better rebounder. He doesn’t have the feel for the game like Mikal or Draymond. He’s dynamic but not as good a perimeter defender.

“He’s having a good year, not a great year,’’ Greenberg added. “His team is so good. That’s the problem. He’s not asked to do too much.”

Another small forward in the late lottery range is Kentucky’s 6-foot-9 freshman Kevin Knox.

“He’s big-time shooter,” Greenberg said of Knox. “He needs to get tougher and put the ball on the floor better. He can shoot and post-up some — a poor man’s Klay Thompson.’’

The Knicks would have to get luck to be in position to draft Porter or Luka Doncic, a 6-foot-6 European star who could play point guard or on the wing in the NBA. Greenberg hasn’t seen Doncic live but his brother, Brad Greenberg, who coaches in Israel, predicted he’s the No. 1 pick.

Seth believes Porter would be No. 1 if not for his back woes.

“The kid’s real talented,’’ Greenberg said. “He’s got some Jayson Tatum in him — very good passer, good size. The back is an issue. That is a concern. He’s also thin-framed. At worst he’s Brandon Ingram and best he’s Tatum and is definitely a 3. He’ll be all about the physical.’’

The legendary TNT mouthpiece believes “you people in New York’’ need more patience with Kristaps Porzingis as well as with the club’s future, saying the franchise is building something sturdy.

Barkley even thinks Porzingis’ catastrophic ACL tear that jeopardizes next season, too, could benefit the franchise “in the long run,” despite admitting the incident was “really sad.’’

“He was on the right track to being a helluva player,’’ Barkley said at TNT’s temporary set next to Staples Center during All-Star weekend festivities Thursday night. “It’s really unfortunate. They had done a good job. I like the (Frank) Ntilikina guy. (Tim) Hardaway Jr. was playing well. I still love the (Enes) Kanter deal.

“The Knicks are going to get better. The problem with you people in New York is you all have zero patience. If you keep drafting and adding players, sooner or later, you’re going to have a good team. But they never have patience in New York.’’

“It will probably be good for the Knicks in the long run,’’ Barkley said. “Because you’re all in a position of getting ping-pong balls. Hypothetically, if you did make the playoffs this year and you’re eighth seed, you’re going to lose in the first round. Now you’re going to get another lottery pick. I don’t understand why everyone is so impatient. I think the Knicks are building toward a future.”

Barkley still has faith in the 22-year-old Porzingis despite his durability issues. He was supposed to make his All-Star Game debut Sunday but he’s now laid up on crutches.

In early December, Porzingis leveled off after an MVP-like start but that has caused Barkley no alarm. The surgery will prevent him from working on parts of his game this offseason and limit his ability to bulk up as he focuses on his knee and quad.

Porzingis finished the season playing 48 games. He’s missed 60 games in his first three seasons.

“When a guy’s 22, I don’t think you’re going to notice he had an ACL in a couple of years,’’ Barkley said. “The way you can work on these guys today and him being so young. … If he was 35, I’d be concerned. I got more hope for him than [DeMarcus] Cousins. That injury (Achilles tear) Boogie got is devastating. I don’t mean to be morbid but I think he’d rather tear an ACL than an Achilles.’’

Barkley still has faith in the 22-year-old Porzingis despite his durability issues. He was supposed to make his All-Star Game debut Sunday but he’s now laid up on crutches.

In early December, Porzingis leveled off after an MVP-like start but that has caused Barkley no alarm. The surgery will prevent him from working on parts of his game this offseason and limit his ability to bulk up as he focuses on his knee and quad.

Porzingis finished the season playing 48 games. He’s missed 60 games in his first three seasons.

“When a guy’s 22, I don’t think you’re going to notice he had an ACL in a couple of years,’’ Barkley said. “The way you can work on these guys today and him being so young. … If he was 35, I’d be concerned. I got more hope for him than [DeMarcus] Cousins. That injury (Achilles tear) Boogie got is devastating. I don’t mean to be morbid but I think he’d rather tear an ACL than an Achilles.’’